The Dark Times
by Messr. Moony the Wolf
Summary: Thrown together on the orders of Director Fury, the Avengers managed to save the world from Loki. But it's been two years without a serious threat, and the team isn't quite as connected as they once were. But with some new orders from the Council, as well as Fury throwing in a complicating factor, can they find a way to once again become the most feared force in all the worlds?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Well, My friends and are obsessed with the Avengers, so I decided to write an Avengers story. It's an idea I had about three hours ago and I have a vague idea where it's going to go. So, I feel the need to warn all of you that I don't know a lot about the actual comic stories and most of the things I do know come from my friends and Wikipedia. So, if anything is blatantly wrong, feel free to let me know. So here it is, The Dark Times.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Avengers; not the movie, not the comics, not anything about them.**

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Chapter 1: The Reunion and Introductions

Tony Stark sighed and put his head in his hands as he read through the pages before him. On his desk at Stark – sorry, _Avengers _– Tower was three pages of complaints from the employees on the floors below him. Each month, he set aside time to read through the complaints that his employees put in the complaint boxes on each floor. Pepper wanted him to do it every week, but that was too much for him.

So here he was, reading through hundreds upon thousands of words of what people thought he should do better. Plenty related to minor things like temperature or paint color or the food offered in the various cafeterias. He rolled his eyes at that. Honestly, he didn't really care if people liked the food in the cafeteria or not; if it was really a problem, people could bring their own lunch. And he wasn't going to repaint the walls because three people thought that it would look better if it were bright green. He could, however, do something about the temperature.

"JARVIS," he called out, looking up from the papers and rubbing his eyes.

"Is there something I can help you with Mister Stark?" The familiar, robotic voice rang almost cheerfully through his office.

"We have thermostats on the employee floors, don't we?"

"Yes sir, we do. Do you need me to make sure they're not malfunctioning?" Tony felt a small grin tug at the corners of his mouth. JARVIS really was the smartest thing he'd ever made. Well, the smartest thing that controlled itself.

"Yes please JARVIS. Apparently, some people aren't pleased with the temperature." Tony rubbed his eyes again as the AI informed him that he would look into it immediately. With another sign, he returned his attention to the complaints before him.

As he continued to read, Tony noticed that there was a trend on the final page. Almost every complaint was about mysterious noises coming from the upper floors of the tower. Some described gunshot-like sounds, others complained of explosions, and still others complained of mechanical whines and rumbles.

Those complaints made Tony frown with annoyance. He was fairly certain that each and every employee was well aware that he lived in the tower, and the entire world was well aware that he was Iron Man. What did they expect, him to be silent all day? He snorted at the very thought. He went out in the suit at night and made improvements to it, as well as worked on various inventions, during the day. He also trained in boxing and did target practice with his hand and chest blasters. Not to mention the frequent, and sometimes loud, video chats he had with his teammates and with Director Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D.

A small, but affectionate smile flickered across Tony's face as he thought of his fellow Avengers. Of course, none of them had seen Thor since he'd returned to Asgard, but they talked about him frequently. Poor guy was often the butt of jokes, but Tony figured that what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. Bruce dropped by every once in a while; it had been two years since the great battle of New York City, and almost everyone had dispersed. They'd been invited to stay in Avengers Tower by both Tony and Pepper, but each of them had refused for various reasons. Thor had to return to Asgard, of course, and no one could blame him for that. Natasha and Clint claimed that they needed to stay undercover and on the helicarrier. Bruce alleged that there were too many people in the city and it would be too dangerous if he were to Hulk out and go on an accidental rampage. And Steve claimed that he wanted to see more of the modern world while he was free from responsibility to S.H.I.E.L.D. and his team. It left Tony alone in New York with Pepper, and he couldn't help but feel a little abandoned.

Shaking off his melancholy thoughts, Tony returned to the list of complaints. He gave up within five minutes because every single one of the remaining complaints had something to do with the noise from his training. Shoving the papers away from him, Tony leaned back in his desk chair. Stretching his arms above his head, he yawned widely before scratching the back of his neck. Suddenly, JARVIS' voice broke the heavy silence.

"Sir, I've checked the thermostats on all the employee floors. Everything seems to be in perfect working order." Tony nodded, a bit of triumph flashing across his face.

"Good work JARVIS. Print out a memo to post on the bulletin boards on each floor telling the location of the thermostat and explaining how it works," he instructed the AI. "I didn't think it was that complicated," he muttered to himself as an afterthought.

"Right away sir," JARVIS replied. A moment later, he spoke again.

"Sir, there is a phone call for you." Tony groaned.

"Can I ignore it?" he asked hopefully.

"I wouldn't advise it sir. The caller is Director Fury from S.H.I.E.L.D." Tony groaned again, but answered the phone on his desk.

"Hello, this is most definitely not Tony Stark. He is definitely not available at this time and you should definitely not wait for him," he said in an overly cheerful voice.

"Cut the crap Stark," Fury snapped into the phone. "You need to get over here right away."

"Hello to you too Fury," Tony replied. "Wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? You seem a little snappy today."

"I'm not in the mood to deal with you Stark. Just get your sorry ass over here immediately." Tony rolled his eyes at Fury's commanding tone.

"You're not my boss Fury. Luckily for you, however, I have nothing better to do. Do you want me to bring the suit?" His voice became much more serious at the last question.

"I doubt you'll need it, but you might as well bring it anyway. You've got a portable model now, is that correct?"

"Yeah, I do," Tony said bluntly. "I'll be there in twenty minutes or less." And he hung up the phone without waiting for a goodbye from the Director.

Rising from his chair and quickly shaking out his legs to relieve the stiffness, Tony began giving instructions to JARVIS.

"JARVIS, I need you to pull up a car, but do it in the back. I don't want any attention."

"So one of the less flashy cars then sir?" JARVIS asked, and Tony nodded absently.

"Yes. I'll also need the Mark VI to be inside when I get to it – Fury told me to bring it, and I'm not about to ask questions. And is Pepper home?"

"The suit will be in the car sir. And yes, Mrs. Stark is the kitchen with Miss Stark." Tony nodded as he headed down the hall.

"Good work JARVIS," he said as he turned a corner and entered the elevator that would take him down one floor to the kitchen.

Exiting the elevator, Tony stepped into his state-of-the-art kitchen. The first thing he saw was his wife, Pepper, bustling around by the stove. The next thing he saw was their adopted daughter, a 16-year-old girl named Mackenzie. He walked in cheerfully, ruffling Mackenzie's long, wavy blonde hair and kissing Pepper on the cheek as he snatched a water bottle from the fridge.

"Smells good Pep," he told her with a grin. "And you better be doing your homework Mackenzie. I'll tell JARVIS to keep you out of the workshop if you don't." The tall blonde rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because JARVIS will definitely not let me in if I beg." Tony's smile grew at that. It was strange how Mackenzie wasn't related to either himself or Pepper by blood, but acted exactly like them sometimes.

"Hey, I'm the creator, I take priority," he said, gesturing with his water bottle as he turned back towards the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Pepper called after him.

"Fury called," Tony called back over his shoulder. "I'll try to be home in time for dinner. I probably will be if he hasn't got some hare-brained scheme to get us all killed again." And with that, Tony entered the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor. Mackenzie turned to Pepper.

"Is there a reason he's always in such a rush?" Pepper shrugged in reply.

"He just likes to move, I guess. Now go on and finish those math problems so I can give you your sketchbook back."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Nick Fury was not a patient man, and the fact that all of his Avengers save Thor, who was not currently on the planet, were here except Stark only served to aggravate his impatience. Currently, he was standing at his post on the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, which was currently in the water, several miles from Long Island with all cloaking devices up. His arms crossed over his chest, he stalked over to Agent Hill, who was watching a view screen showing the area of coastline where Stark was expected to park his car. His long, black trench coat flapped out behind him and his black combat boots thudded loudly on the polished floors. Agent Hill didn't turn as he approached, but answered his unasked question.

"The car just arrived. He's getting onto the boat now," she said in a calm and professional voice, pointing at the screen so he could see it too. A grunt was the only reply she got as Fury stalked towards the door leading out to the deck of the carrier. There he waited for five minutes, arms crossed and still as a statue, for Tony Stark.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Tony enjoyed the boat ride to the helicarrier. He spent the entire time attempting to speak to the stone-faced man driving, though he got no response. He also spewed random information on the Statue of Liberty, which they sailed past at high speed, the ocean, and also threw in a couple of random comments about the helicarrier, his teammates, and Fury. The man looked rather relieved when Tony boarded the helicarrier.

The first thing Tony saw once he was on deck was the angry-faced man with the eye patch that could only be Nick Fury. He grinned widely, knowing he'd annoyed the Director in some way.

"Hello there Fury," he said cheerfully. "How are you today?"

"I'd be a lot better if you'd gotten here quicker Stark," the battle-worn man growled in reply.

"Let me remind you that you called me about ten minutes ago Fury. If you'd wanted me here quicker, you should've called earlier," Tony replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Fury said nothing in reply, simply turned and walked back inside, heading towards a conference room. Tony followed, dragging the case that held his armor with him. They came to a familiar control room, and Fury led him into a connected conference room. Tony couldn't help the spark of happiness he felt when he saw his teammates.

Natasha Romanoff was leaning forward in her chair, staring fixedly at a wall and drumming her fingers on the tabletop. Clint Barton was sitting back in his chair, examining an arrow that Tony was quite sure he could have nocked and fired in less than a second. Bruce Banner was the only one standing; he was looking out a small window at the NYC skyline. And Steve Rogers was at the head of the table on the other end, leaning back in his desk chair, the picture of relaxation. Everyone turned when he came in, and Tony offered a flashy grin.

"Nice to see that everyone's keeping up the habit of looking like the world's about to end," he said cheerily as he took a seat beside Natasha. Steve and Bruce both chuckled deeply, while Clint looked like a piece of stone and Nat rolled her eyes. Fury cleared his throat to get the group's attention, and everyone turned because it was a really bad idea to piss off Fury.

"Now that you're all done being children," he said rather snidely. "I've got news for you."

"I couldn't have guessed," Tony deadpanned, which earned him another chuckle from everyone.

"Stark, if I hear one more comment from you, I will gladly throw you into the ocean," Fury growled. That shut everyone up. "Now then. First news; I have a request from my superiors to inquire as to why you aren't living closer to each other."

"Well, I want to see more of the modern world," Steve said rather shyly. "Everything's so different now…"

"Barton and I live in the helicarrier," Nat said flatly; Clint nodded his agreement.

"I felt – and still feel – that living in a densely populated area is a terrible idea, given my… condition," Bruce said calmly. Fury nodded slightly.

"They also told me that they didn't give a rat's ass about your responses; according to them, you need to be together so you can train and get used to working together. No arguments," Fury added when Clint, Natasha, and Bruce opened their mouths to object.

"Stark, can you keep them in your tower?" Tony nodded, careful to keep the excitement off his face. All of his teammates in one place? Where he could annoy the hell out of them whenever he wanted? It was a dream come true!

"They can come whenever they're ready," he told Fury. "We have a few spare rooms."

"Good. You'll all be moved in by day after tomorrow, or else. Now, the next order of business. Agent Hill and I have been talking, and we've come to a conclusion; we have another… gifted agent, and we'd like to add this person to the Avengers Initiative." Fury was doing that weird thing where he looked at you with the one eye and somehow met both of yours, and it was freaking Tony out to the point where he almost missed what had been said. Luckily, Clint was paying attention and spoke up for the first time all meeting.

"No Fury," he said flatly, although Tony thought that there was an underlying current of rage in his voice. "I know exactly who you're talking about and there's no way that she can keep up with us."

"I beg to differ Agent Barton," Fury replied in a surprisingly calm voice. "We ran plenty of tests, and found that her results rivaled yours and Agent Romanoff's, occasionally surpassing them."

"Tests can't tell you how someone will act in battle." Tony had to resist rolling his eyes at Steve's seemingly endless supply of apparent wisdom. "Beside, we work well with the five of us – six when Thor's here. Why do we need another?" Everyone missed the sound of the door sliding open until a new voice spoke.

"Because they don't know what to do with me Spangles," a female voice responded. Tony recognized the dry humor she was employing and silently applauded her for being able to make a sort-of joke when he could feel the waves of tension in the room.

"Avengers, I'd like you to meet Agent Wolf," Fury said, stepping aside so they could get a full view of the new person. Tony had to admit, he was startled by her appearance. She looked to be about 5 foot 6, maybe taller, and her skin was the palest he'd ever seen. For a minute, he was almost convinced he was looking at a porcelain doll. Her eyes were a piercing blue, similar to the color Clint's had been when Loki had possessed his mind, though less vibrant. Her hair was pulled back into some shape Tony couldn't think of the word for, but he did notice it was blonde, like Mackenzie, although his daughter's hair was lighter. She what appeared to be a standard-issue black bodysuit that was clearly built for athletics. Her hands were propped on her hips, and he couldn't help but notice the fingerless gloves she wore. He wondered if she was hiding something.

"So which part of your name is Wolf?" Steve asked, breaking the awkward silence. She turned to him.

"It's not in my name. I'm called The Wolf because I have some… unique personality quirks." The wry smile that spread across her face as she said this made Tony wonder if there was something Fury wasn't telling them about this girl. Wait, scratch that – Fury _never _told them everything, and there was no reason for him to start now.

"Wolf, this is Dr. Bruce Banner, Captain Steve Rodgers, Mr. Tony Stark, Agent Natasha Romanoff, and-" The girl cut Fury off before he could continue.

"And Agent Clint Barton. Barton and I have met." Her voice was calm, but there was a strange iciness to it, as if she was as happy to see them as they were to see her.

"Good. At least you know one of them personally." Both Wolf and Clint looked like they were going to argue that statement, but Fury waved them off.

"Agent Wolf is fully trained and fully capable of taking every one of you in this room."

"Except the Hulk," Wolf threw in. "I don't think I'd survive that encounter." Tony noticed he was not the only one who started slightly at the interjection.

_Finally, _he thought. _Someone who works for Fury who doesn't think they're all that._

"As I was saying," Fury said through gritted teeth. "Agent Wolf is the new member of your team. She will live with you at Avengers Tower and will be treated as you would treat any teammate. Don't underestimate her." And with that, Fury walked out of the room, leaving five Avengers and one blonde girl to stare warily at each other.

"So how old are you again?" Bruce asked, looking at her curiously. Tony tuned back into reality when he heard the question – he most certainly had _not _been thinking about how he would furnish a floor for each Avenger.

"I'll be 17 next month," she said. Steve sucked in an angry breath, and Nat looked like she wanted to break something.

"You're only 16 and you're considered good enough to be an Avenger?" Tony asked, a bit of amazement in his tone. His daughter was 16, and even though she was smart, there was no way she would be qualified to join them, even if she'd been training her whole life. She turned her blue stare onto him.

"Obviously," Wolf replied, a bit of contempt in her voice.

"Well, if you're going to be our teammate, what should we call you?" It was Steve who breached the gap into the most personal question of the day, and Wolf immediately looked to him.

"Call me whatever you want Spangles. I have a name, but sharing it seems rather pointless to share it when we all know that you'll have a nickname for me in less than a day." Her words were accompanied by a shrug, and Tony didn't miss that she'd once again called Steve 'Spangles,' obviously in reference to his overly patriotic outfit.

"Do you have nicknames for us?" Tony asked, actual curiosity in his voice.

"Of course," she said as if it should be obvious. "The Captain over there is Spangles, you're Sparky, the good doctor would be Jolly Green, Agent Romanoff is Spider, and Barton's Hawk." She rattled off this list of names as easily as if she used them daily, and Tony felt a little creeped out.

"What about Thor?" Nat asked, tapping her fingers on the table. Wolf frowned.

"I hadn't thought about him. Fury didn't give me a file on him."

"Probably because he's off dealing with his psychotic baby brother in a distant universe," Barton muttered, making everyone snort.

"I'd probably call him something uncreative, like Thunderhead," Wolf said with a shrug. Feeling the sudden awkwardness, Tony abruptly stood.

"Well, as fun as this chat's been, I need to get back to the tower to make sure that it's ready for the arrival of a gang of freaks like you. Anyone coming with me?" Bruce stepped forward, and so did Wolf, much to his surprise.

"My stuff's already packed. I didn't want to hang around Fury longer than needed," she explained, clearly noting his puzzled look.

"Well, we've got a party right here!" Tony said with completely fake cheeriness. "One metal head, one guy with anger problems, and one dog!" Wolf's expression turned icy in a second, and her eyes narrowed.

"Did you just call me a dog?" she asked in a dangerous tone. When he nodded, the young woman actually growled at him.

"Call me that again and I will tie you up and slowly dismantle your armor, piece by piece, while you are forced to watch," she hissed threateningly before stalking out the door. The Avengers were silent for a minute.

"Well, at least we know that she knows what's most important to us," Nat said after a minute of quiet. Tony nodded, feeling a bit alarmed, and left with Bruce, clutching his precious armor close as he walked.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The drive home had been… tense, to say the least. Wolf sat in the back next to the Iron Man suit and had said nothing, just looked out the window with a flat expression. Bruce had passed out the minute he had buckled his seat belt, and Tony couldn't blame him; he was pretty sure that Fury had the poor guy working on something nearly every hour of the day. But with the other scientist asleep, Tony had no one to talk to, which was unfortunate because he was a very talkative guy. So, naturally, he did the next best thing and flipped on the radio. A song he vaguely knew came on; he remembered it was called Some Nights by a group called fun. He knew that Mackenzie rather liked it, but he wasn't too fond of the band, so he went to change it.

Imagine his surprise when a quiet voice from the back said, "Please leave it, if you don't mind."

Curiouser and curiouser.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Wolf POV

I have no idea what possessed me to speak to Tony freaking Stark during the car ride. In my own defense, I absolute love the song Some Nights, and the idea of someone skipping it or changing the station away from it is the closest thing to blasphemy I can think of sometimes. But I could've left it alone and let him do whatever he wanted. It's his car and his radio, so it should be his choice. But no, I just had to open my big mouth and ask him to leave the song on. And now he was looking at me in the mirror with raised eyebrows, although I noticed he took his hand away from the radio controls.

In response to his questioning expression, I defiantly raised my eyebrows and quirked my mouth downward in an almost-frown. He wordlessly returned his eyes to the road, and I thought I was about to get away with it. No such luck.

"So you like this song?" he asked casually as he made a turn. I pretended I hadn't been staring out the windshield, gawking at the size of Avengers Tower as I answered.

"Obviously," I retorted. Apparently, this was my favorite word today. I'd used it against him twice.

"Why?" he asked bluntly as he drove through another intersection. I felt a stab of annoyance at his abrupt interrogation.

"Because the beat is really nice to listen to and I like the lyrics. Same reason why most people like songs." Okay, maybe that was a bit snappy. I resisted the urge to wince and resumed looking out the window as if it held the secrets of life. Stark was quiet for a moment.

"I have a daughter your age," he announced abruptly. I looked back towards the front, both eyebrows raised.

"And I have blonde hair. Are we just naming random facts now?" I asked with as much sarcasm as I could muster. I resisted an urge to grin as he huffed with annoyance.

"No, I was just telling you because I thought that maybe you two could share a room while I get a floor ready for you. I have one for each of my other teammates, but…" and here he trailed off helplessly. I did feel a bit bad for him; it's not like he asked Fury to demand that his five current teammates, not to mention me (and I was quite sure he'd never heard of me before), live in the tower with him.

"But you don't have one for me because I didn't exist in your mind until ten minutes ago," I finished for him. "And as long as your kid doesn't care, I don't care either. I've slept in stranger places."

"You should have tea with Clint and Nat," Stark grumbled as he pulled around the back of Avengers Tower. "They're always talking about how they've seen worse." With that, he turned off the car, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and hopped out. For a minute, I thought he was going to leave the suit behind, but as soon as he'd closed the driver's side door, he was turning back to get it. I hopped out the other side and went around to the trunk to get my bags, all two of them. Dr. Banner joined me a moment later, offering an almost shy smile that I would've returned, were it not for my extensive emotion-hiding abilities. I had to force my lips to twitch upward slightly, and it felt a bit odd to be that close to a real smile. He actually waited for me, and walked with me into the building where Stark was waiting with an impatient expression. I resisted the powerful urge to roll my eyes as the poor elevator button was relentlessly jabbed until the doors dinged open.

The ride up was… slightly less uncomfortable than the ride over. This was probably because it was significantly shorter. I'm not ashamed to admit that I flinched a little when a calm, British-sounding voice echoed through the elevator.

"Which floor Mr. Stark?" it inquired.

"Up to the common floor please JARVIS," he answered. He obviously noticed me looking around the elevator for a source of the voice, because he launched into an explanation without being prompted.

"JARVIS is an AI," he explained. "He runs the entire tower, not to mention my personal electronics, as well as being excellent if you need a good conversation. JARVIS, we're going to have some guests. Well, more like there are going to be some people moving in. I'll discuss logistics with you later, but for now, this is Dr. Bruce Banner and Agent Wolf of S.H.I.E.L.D. Bruce and Wolf, JARVIS."

"It's a pleasure to meet any comrades of Mr. Stark," JARVIS responded in the same pleasant tone.

"Nice to meet you too, even if you are a scary robot voice from nowhere," I muttered. To my surprise, the doc actually chuckled.

"I apologize if I have frightened you Agent Wolf. It was most unintentional." The voice was eerily without emotion, and it made the back of my neck prickle. I'd never particularly liked robots, and this overly smart AI was a little freaky. I'd take Fury over a robot almost any day.

"No harm no foul," I replied easily as the elevator came to a smooth halt and the doors dinged open.

"The private common area," JARVIS announced as Stark, Banner, and I stepped out of the elevator.

Whether I liked Stark or not, I had to admit that his tower was cool. The room was a multi-purpose kitchen and family room, with huge, floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out in the direction of the water. A large, squishy-looking blue couch was carefully placed in front of the windows, leading me to assume that either the windows doubled as a TV or there was one hidden somewhere.

I wasn't paying much attention behind me until there was a sharp pop followed by sizzling. I guess I really do have paranoia problems, because I immediately dropped my bags and turned around to face the noise, dropping into a crouch and holding my hands in a defensive position. It was just a woman with pale red hair cooking on a pan while a blonde girl sat in front of her, absorbed in something on the counter. Stark had walked over and seemed to be explaining something to the woman, who looked over in the direction of the doc and I curiously. I immediately rose from the crouch, a bit embarrassed, as she came over. She gave a warm smile as she offered her hand to me and said;

"Hi, I'm Pepper Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries." Her voice was warm and kind, and her handshake was relatively solid. I nodded slightly in response to her introduction.

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Stark. I'm Agent Wolf." She had taken her hand back, and now looked a bit puzzled.

"Well, for one thing, call me Pepper. Mrs. Stark is just too formal, especially if you're going to live here. And don't you have a regular first name I could call you?"

"Um…" I hesitated for a minute, but something about her warm, sincere face made me okay with opening up a little. "You can call me Evelyn or Evvie if you want," I offered. "But Wolf is fine too." She beamed at my admission.

"Evvie it is!" She turned back to the girl at the counter. "Kenzie, come here and meet our new houseguests." I heard a sigh, and the young woman stood and turned to greet me. She was taller than me, quite a bit taller actually. I would put her at almost six feet. Her hair was longer than mine and more white-blonde, and her eyes were stormy gray as opposed to my own bright blue. But for all intensive purposes, we could've been sisters.

"Hi, I'm Mackenzie," she offered, her mind clearly still on whatever she'd been doing before Pepper had called her over.

"Hi, I'm Wolf, but you can call me Evelyn or Evvie if Wolf is too weird," I replied. "What were you doing over there?" She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Just sketches of some ideas. I like to build things," she added at the end, her eyes sparkling slightly behind the round-framed glasses I'd only just noticed.

"That's cool," I said.

"What do you do for fun?" she asked, and I almost gave a cynical laugh, but thought better of it.

"I don't have a lot of free time, but I like to draw. Mostly living things though, like people or animals. And I play music." She nodded.

"I sing and play piano," she offered. I noticed that Pepper looked like she was about to explode with happiness.

"Oh, you two will just be the best of friends!" she exclaimed, and I saw Mackenzie roll her eyes. Stark had reappeared from the kitchen, and he clapped a hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Kenz, Wolf here is going to share a room with you for a while." He noticed the displeased look on his daughter's face, and quickly continued. "Not for long, just until I can get a floor furnished for her. My teammates are all supposed to be moved in by the day after tomorrow, so I don't have a lot of time to get furniture and stuff." Mackenzie made a grumbling noise that could have been protest, but also could have been agreement. Tony ruffled her hair, which caused her to give a little noise of exasperation and immediately try to pat it down.

"Just try not to kill each other, okay?" he said with a wink as he turned away, presumably to show Banner where he was staying. I looked at Mackenzie and she looked back for a moment before sighing and picking up one of my bags.

"Come on, I'll show you my room," she said with a sigh. She led me down a hallway that was just past the kitchen; all the way at the end, she opened a door into a surprisingly large room. I was impressed with the view of the city it offered, even if I wasn't really a city person.

"You have a really nice room," I told her as I tucked the bag I was holding into a corner. She nodded, a slight grimace on her lips.

"Thanks. I just sometimes wish that I had a normal house, y'know?" I snorted.

"Honey, I work for S.H.I.L.D. In my world, normalcy is like Nirvana; it's all I want to achieve, but I know that it's practically impossible." **(AN: Not trying to offend anyone who believes in Nirvana, it's just a comparison. Millions of apologies for any and all offense caused!) **The other girl burst out laughing at that, and I felt my own lips twitch in some semblance of a smile. Or maybe it just looked like that scary face wolves make when they open their jaws at the right angle, so it looks like a sadistic smile.

"You're funny," she said, dropping my bag next to the white couch beneath the window. I assumed that's where I would sleep, so I put my bag next to it. For a minute, we awkwardly stared at each other. She broke the silence.

"Want to come with me to my dad's workshop?" she offered. I nodded, and she headed back towards the door.

"One second, I just want to get my sketchbook," I explained. She waited while I pulled the slightly battered book and a pencil pouch out of one of my bags before turning to follow her.

Mackenzie led me out of her room and back into the common area. She grabbed her sketchbook off the counter and headed for the elevator, with me tagging along behind.

"Which floor Miss Stark?" JARVIS asked.

"Workshop please JARVIS," she replied, and the elevator instantly began to move. The ride was extremely fast, and I found myself thanking JARVIS as I left the elevator. Well, at least no one could fault me for having bad manners.

Mackenzie was typing a code into a pad beside the door. The wall beside me looked to be quite solid, but I had a funny feeling it might be one-way glass. There was a sudden beep, and I looked over to see that the door had swung open and my new roommate was entering. I darted in after her and let the door swing shut behind me.

I was a bit awed by the room before me. To my left, there was a smaller room with glass walls that looked to be a science lab. The room I was standing in was huge, with concrete floors and steel or iron walls and ceilings. Worktables were everywhere, and I saw plenty of power tools and metal scraps everywhere. On the far wall, I noticed that the various Iron Man suits were lined up, each encased in a cylinder of glass that was probably reinforced and bulletproof.

There was a cheerful beeping sound, and I looked down to see a little robot about to poke my ankle. I almost panicked and leapt back from it. Mackenzie looked at me, puzzled, and spoke to the robot.

"Hey, it's okay little guy. She's a friend." The little thing squeaked happily and rolled up to me again. It turned what I supposed functioned as its head up towards me, so I hesitantly reached down and patted it on the top of the 'head.' That made it roll back and forth in what I figured was an excited manner. It really was adorable, and I managed a little chuckle as I headed over to one of the cleaner tables. I nudged away a few screwdrivers and wrenches before putting my sketchbook on the cold metal before me. I stared at it for a minute before flipping it open. I had to flip all the way past the halfway point to find an unused page. Once I got there, I flipped the cover and all the other pages around behind it (it was a spiral-bound book) and opened my pencil pouch. Once I'd found a plain gray pencil, I turned back to the book and stared blankly at it for a minute. I had no idea what to draw.

A little beep interrupted me from my thoughts. I looked down to see the same little robot that I'd given a pat on the head; only he was now offering me a small wrench. I smiled slightly and took the wrench, putting it on the table beside my book. He started to roll away, when I was suddenly struck by an idea.

"Hey, little robot, stay here a minute?" The little thing turned around and made a noise that could have passed for a squeak.

"I'm gonna draw you," I informed him. The robot made a noise that I thought must be excitement, and it made me smile.

"You just have to stay still, okay?" The robot seemed to nod, and I had to smile a little bigger in response. I put the pencil on the paper, and sketched out the first lines.

Over an hour later, I was shaken from my trance of sorts by a hand on my shoulder. I jumped slightly and turned to see Dr. Banner behind me with a slight grin on his face.

"What're you concentrating on so seriously?" I moved my sketchbook into his line of vision and he leaned forward to examine the picture. Then he looked at the little robot, which I'd put up on the table so I could see him better.

"This is good," he told me. "You should show Tony."

"Show me what?" I held in a sigh as the borderline arrogant voice rang through the workshop.

"This," I said tossing him the book. He caught it easily and examined the drawing. After a minute, he nodded slightly with a half-smile on his face as he tossed the book back.

"Pretty good kiddo," he said simply. I nodded a thanks and the little robot beeped as if looking for recognition. I looked at him.

"Don't worry Boo," I told him. "You were a very good model."

"You named my robot _Boo?" _Tony asked incredulously.

"Well, I had to call him something," I reasoned logically. I heard Mackenzie snicker from somewhere behind her dad.

"And besides," I continued. "He looks a bit like a ghost, only cuter. Thus, Boo." Stark just shook his head in a defeated way, which made me grin like the Cheshire Cat. I heard Mackenzie's laughter continue and a chuckle that I assumed was the doc.

"Is this how it's going to be while you live here?" Stark asked wearily. I nodded, and he groaned.

First day in Avengers Tower: I think I can call this a success.

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**AN: So that was way longer than it was originally going to be. Oh well! Please note that most of the chapters won't be this long, I just had a lot to say for this one. If anyone cares, I'm also in the process of writing another story called Starkid and the Marauders, which you can find on my profile or by searching. It's pretty good, if you'll allow me to be a little proud of myself for a second. It probably won't make sense to you unless you're a Starkid fan, but you can try it if you're not. Oh, and another thing; these updates will probably be pretty slow because I'm in school five days a week and I'm writing that other story, so I don't have that much free time. Love to all reviewers!  
~Moony**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello, hello, hello! I'm back with another chapter for ya'll! More Avengers come to the tower in this chapter! Yay! Possibility of some Clintasha and Pepperony fluff! Yay! Hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Evelyn, Mackenzie, and this plot. For the most part. Anything you recognize from movies or comics is most likely owned by Marvel. It's certainly not owned by me.**

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Chapter 2: Coming Together

I was brutally woken the next morning by a loud, angry beeping that could only be an alarm. Shooting out of bed, I grabbed for anything to protect myself with, and was rather annoyed when I saw Mackenzie frantically slapping at her alarm clock. Once it had quieted, she looked over at me with an apologetic expression.

"Sorry, I forgot to warn you about my alarm. It is a school day, after all." She had the good grace to look sheepish as she spoke, and I shrugged it off as I yawned.

"Whatever. It was an honest mistake. Have fun at school," I tacked on at the end as I crawled back under my sheets. She looked confused as she rose out of her bed.

"You're not coming with me?" She sounded completely confused. I shook my head, holding off another yawn.

"Nope. I already know everything school would try and teach me. Private tutors from S.H.I.E.L.D. and shit," I mumbled in explanation. She nodded and vanished from my line of vision as my eyes fell heavily closed once more.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

A few hours later, I found myself slowly swimming to consciousness. I groggily blinked my eyes open and was greeted by a still semi-dark room, although I could see from here that the bed was empty. I yawned widely and stretched, arching my back up in an attempt to stretch the muscles around my spine and on my lower back. I flopped back down on the couch and yawned again, still rather sleepy. I was startled into complete wakefulness by a semi-familiar robotic voice.

"Good morning Agent Wolf," it intoned in an almost cheerful way. "I trust that you slept well. Mr. Stark asked me to inform you that there is breakfast in the kitchen, should you be hungry at this time. Or, I can run a bath or shower for you." I blinked, gathering my scatterbrained thoughts and managed an intelligent reply.

"Uh, thanks JARVIS. I'll just go get some breakfast, I think." I paused for a moment, then swung my legs off the couch and stood up. I guess it was a little too fast, because the whole world tilted to my left, and I almost fell again before steadying myself on the arm of the couch.

"Are you alright agent?" JARVIS asked, something akin to concern in its voice. I blinked several more times and rubbed my eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just stood up a little too fast," I replied, muttering the last bit to myself. I knelt beside my black duffel and rooted around until I found a sweatshirt. Uncaring what it looked like, I yanked it over my head and stuck my feet into my slippers before standing – more carefully this time – and exiting the bedroom.

I got to the kitchen with ease – there was only a single turn, and it didn't take a genius to follow the smell of pancakes and sounds of chatter. I walked in and promptly yawned widely, my jaws stretching to their fullest extent. I closed my mouth with a slight _snap _and looked around.

Pepper was standing at the stovetop and cooking pancakes, judging from the smell and the plate piled high on the counter beside her. Dr. Banner was sitting at the counter with a mug in front of him, looking intently at the screen of a tablet. Stark was nowhere to be found.

I padded in, deliberately scuffing my heels a tiny bit to alert everyone to my presence. Walking silently was a habit, but I figured that scaring the doctor would be a bad idea. At the sound of my slippers, he looked up and smiled warmly at me.

"Good morning agent. Did you sleep well?" He was very soft-spoken, I noted, but there was an oddly genuine feeling about him, like he actually cared. I forced a tiny grin onto my face as I came closer and replied.

"Quite well, thank you for asking. Yourself?" I pulled out a barstool as I asked and sat down, deliberately leaving a seat between us. Paranoid or well trained, I'm not sure which, but I have some serious issues with people being to close to me. It was just easier to keep my distance.

"As well as I ever do," he said with a rather thin smile. I nodded and turned my attention to the plate that was being placed before me. Pepper smiled at me with an expression I couldn't identify on her face. For a minute, I let myself think it might be something like affection, but I shut that train of thought down quickly.

"Good morning Pepper," I said politely. "Do you need any help with breakfast?" She had returned to her griddle, but looked over her shoulder to offer me another smile.

"Oh, no thanks dear. If you'd like something to drink, feel free to help yourself to something from the fridge, though," she added on the end. I nodded and hopped off the stool and padded over to the fridge, my feet ghosting silently over the floor. I pulled out a jug of apple juice and closed the door. I put the apple juice on the counter and paused, unsure where to get a cup. I was saved when a tall paper cup was placed in front of me by a smiling Pepper. I offered a teeny tiny smile in return.

"Thanks," I said as I poured myself a cup before replacing the juice in the fridge and sitting down to my pancakes.

Once I'd finished my breakfast, I headed back to my room and pulled on some yoga pants and a plain red T-shirt. Actually, it had a logo on it, but I didn't want to explain anything about myself more than once, so I just turned it inside out. I re-entered the kitchen and family room area, and found Pepper sitting on the couch, alone. I retreated to my own room and grabbed my laptop, sketchbook, and drawing materials before returning. I silently sat down at the other end of the couch. I pretended not to notice when she looked up with a startled expression and she pretended not to notice that I seemed to have appeared out of the woodwork.

And that was how I spent my morning; curled up on the navy blue couch in Avengers Tower with Pepper Stark. She typed away on her Stark Pad or whatever it was she had while I alternately drew and typed on my laptop, occasionally searching the Internet for nothing in particular. At one point, I found myself beginning to draw her, simply because she was the only source of inspiration in the room. I hesitated once the preliminary lines started to form into a recognizable shape. Then I figured I was perfectly within my rights to draw her if she was just sitting there, so I continued sketching. Then the sketch turned into a portrait, which in turn was fine-tuned and colored.

I was interrupted in the final checking-over of my drawing when a pair of hands appeared from either side of my head and snatched the entire sketchbook away. I stood and whirled around in the same motion, my lip curling into a snarl.

I relaxed marginally when I saw that it was just Tony who'd plucked away my drawing with surprising delicacy. He was now examining it with the air of a professional art collector, making me fidget uncomfortably. Lucky for me, Pepper had looked up at my sudden motion and correctly guessed what was going on.

"Tony," she said with a sigh. "Give Evelyn back her drawings." Tony looked up and opened his mouth to protest, but she silenced him with a look. His lips twisted into a pout, but he thrust the book back in my direction and I snatched it without a second's hesitation.

"Thank you Pepper," I said, glaring at Tony. He stuck his tongue out in response, and I turned away in time to see Pepper roll her eyes.

"No problem dear. He has a habit of taking things that don't belong to him, although he hates being handed things," she explained rather absently, her attention already back on her Stark Pad. Tony, who was walking behind the couch towards the kitchen, swooped down and kissed her cheek before quickly darting away.

"You still love me though!" he sing-songed as he practically danced into the kitchen. Pepper rolled her eyes again as she stood and headed for the kitchen as well, looking back towards me with a kind expression.

"Hungry for some lunch?" she asked kindly. I nodded slightly and flipped my sketchbook closed. I tossed it carelessly on top of all my other stuff before following the Starks into the kitchen.

I made myself a peanut butter sandwich with the stuff Pepper put out and poured myself a glass of milk before sitting down. A minute later, Tony sat on one side of me and Pepper came and sat on my other side as soon as she'd put away the sandwich stuff. I let the older people talk around me as I quietly ate my sandwich. JARVIS spoke up when I was about half-finished with it.

"Sir, there is someone downstairs requesting to come up," he informed Tony in a matter-of-fact voice. Tony didn't even look up from his little work tablet as he replied.

"Who is it JARVIS?"

"It appears to be Captain Rogers, sir," the AI replied. Now Tony looked up.

"Well let him up then JARVIS! He's a teammate. Teammates are always allowed up here, you know that." He shook his head slightly as he hopped up and put his plate and glass in the sink.

"My apologies sir. I was unsure if you were ready for another visitor." I watched the elevator as the floor numbers lit up, indicating the upward progress of the captain. I figured that I should probably stop calling him Spangles and such, seeing as he got to boss me around when we were fighting the bad guys, but it was really too much fun to quit.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid smoothly open a moment later. Rogers stepped out, and I was once again struck by how generally _big _the guy was. Big muscles, tall, warm smile, commanding presence; he seemed to be the perfect superior officer. Except for the extremely shy way he walked into the room. He had a backpack on his back and a large duffel in his hand, but nothing else. I thought I could see the edge of his shield underneath the backpack though.

"Hi Tony. Sorry if I'm imposing, but S.I.E.L.D. basically kicked me out of my own apartment in Brooklyn and told me to come here." Steve was awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke, a light blush dusting his cheeks. Tony laughed aloud and waved his hand as if to dismiss Steve's apology.

"Don't worry about it Cap! Lucky for you, your room is ready, believe it or not. It was the first one I finished, actually. Come on, I'll bring you to it," he said cheerfully, clapping Steve on the arm and heading back towards the elevator. It dinged open just as Tony was about to press the button. The door slid open and I saw Bruce look up from something in his hands. He stepped out of the elevator, around Steve and Tony who were getting in.

"Hi Steve," he said distractedly, his attention already back on whatever he was holding. I rolled my eyes at Tony's obvious excitement now that another of the Avengers was here. Bruce sat down in Pepper's vacated seat, his attention still focused on what I could now see was a bundle of papers in his hand. Pepper pulled out the bread, a plate, and a knife, then looked to Bruce.

"Hungry Bruce?" she asked. He looked up from his sheets and nodded, running a hand distractedly through his hair as he adjusted his glasses with his other hand.

"Yes please, Pepper," he said. "If it's not too much trouble, of course."

"None at all Bruce, none at all," she responded. "What kind of sandwich would you like?"

"I'd love salami and cheese with mustard, if you've got it," he replied, looking back towards his papers. Pepper bustled around the kitchen as I lazily sipped at my glass of milk. I stared absently at the wall across from me, my thoughts swirling around in circles. A gentle nudge on my side brought me back to reality and I turned to see Bruce looking at me with a curious expression. I raised an eyebrow in question and took another sip of my milk.

"What're you concentrating on so intensely?" he asked with a curious expression, a bit of amusement twinkling in his voice.

"Nothing really," I said. "Just thinking."

"I don't think I can believe that," he replied. "You just looked too intent." I grinned slightly.

"Fine, you caught me. I was thinking about the best way to get on Stark's nerves next," I replied, a little smirk playing about my lips. Bruce laughed as Pepper put a plate before him.

"It doesn't surprise me," he said as he picked up his sandwich.

"It's just too much fun," I replied as I stood and put my now-empty glass in the sink.

"So what were you drawing earlier that you didn't want Tony to see?" Pepper asked casually. I chuckled.

"Very smooth Pepper. But you don't have to try and trick me; you're more than welcome to look, if you're curious." I went back to the sofa and grabbed my drawing materials. Upon returning to the kitchen, I resumed my seat next to Bruce and handed Pepper the drawing pad, already open to the portrait I'd done of her. She examined it curiously, her eyes flicking over the page for a solid minute before handing it back.

"That," she said, pointing to the drawing. "Is really, really good." I gave a little half-smile and ducked my head shyly.

"Thanks Pepper," I replied. Bruce was trying to look at it over my shoulder, so I put it on the counter for him to see too. He examined it with an intense expression before swallowing and turning to me.

"Are you sure you don't have some sort of ability to project an image on paper and make it look like you drew it?" he asked shrewdly. I laughed aloud at that, shaking my head.

"Believe me, I'm fully aware of my own abilities. Photographic projection is not one of them," I replied, flipping my sketchbook closed.

"You planning on telling us what they are?" I turned at the sound of the Captain's voice. He and Stark had reappeared, and he was taking a seat beside Bruce, looking at me curiously. I shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess I'll have to. But I'd rather do it once, so I think I'll wait until everyone's here. If that works for you Rodgers," I added at the end, not wanting anyone to think I was done being annoying. Fury stuck me here against my will and there was no way in hell I was coming quietly. Rodgers sighed and his face took on a rather sad expression before he answered.

"No, it's a good idea, actually. And call me Steve, please. We're going to be living together, we might as well be on a first-name basis." I blinked, surprised that he didn't confront me about the whole last name thing. I nodded slowly.

"Okay Steve. Call me Evelyn," I replied hesitantly. His expression became curious again as he looked me over, and I fidgeted a bit. I wasn't a big fan of once-overs.

"That's a pretty name," he said finally. I was half-expecting him to tack on 'for a pretty girl,' and was relieved when he didn't.

"Thanks," I said with another nod. I gathered up my sketchbook and returned to my spot on the couch, trying to make myself as small as possible. However, it seemed that Tony had decided he was going to be as annoying as possible because he leaped over the back of the couch and sat next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I mumbled a vague protest that he ignored as he leaned over and grabbed my sketchbook for the second time that day. I watched, inexplicably nervous as Tony flipped open to the first page and looked over the drawing. He kept going, silently flipping through the drawings and carefully examining each one for a minute or so until he stopped dead at one page in the middle of the book. He stared at it for what felt like a year before slowly looking up at me, a grin creeping across his face. He flipped it around for me to see and asked;

"So who's this?" My face twisted in a snarl and I lunged forward in an attempt to grab it back, but Tony leaped back before I could touch him.

"Nice try Evvie, but you're not getting off that easy! I am not giving this back until I get my answer!" Stark was practically singing as he ran through the room in an attempt to avoid me. I snorted doubtfully.

"What is this, and interrogation? Besides, do you really think that I couldn't knock you out right now with-" I looked around the room and picked up a random magazine "- with this magazine? Because I think we both know that I could. Give me the book and no one gets hurt." We stood like that for a solid minute, Tony holding my sketchbook and I holding the magazine until footsteps made us both look towards the kitchen.

Steve had appeared in the doorway and was staring at us in amazement. For another minute, we were all silent. Finally, Steve spoke up.

"Are you threatening him with a magazine?"

"Yes," I replied calmly. "I can think of multiple ways to hurt him, knock him out, or kill him with it, in case you were wondering." Steve raised an eyebrow and Tony looked properly alarmed.

"So you're threatening him because he's got your book?" Steve still seemed a bit confused, so I simply nodded in agreement. Tony suddenly spoke up again.

"She's a little upset because I found this beauty in here," he stage-whispered to Steve, holding out the book for him to see. I let out a fierce growl rather unintentionally, causing both men to look up at her in alarm. Even I blinked in surprise at the suddenly ferocious noise I let out.

"Did you just _growl_?" Tony asked in amazement. I gave him my best icy glare.

"No, it was obviously the invisible dog," I replied, my voice dripping with excessive amounts of sarcasm. "Are you going to give me my book or am I going to have to take it from you?" Tony tapped his chin in mocking thought.

"Hmmm… I'm more inclined to say neither, to be honest," he said nonchalantly. My eyes narrowed, but Steve's voice made me pause before I leaped at him.

"You know, this is really impressive," Steve said, tapping the drawing with his pointer finger and looking at me over the book. I blinked, totally thrown off by the sudden comment and completely distracted from my rage at Tony.

"Um, thanks, I guess. I still want my book back though," I added at the end. Steve grinned.

"I know. And I'll hand it back to you myself, as soon as you tell me the names of the guy and girl in this drawing." I pursed my lips and tapped the magazine on my leg. For about ten seconds, I debated fighting Tony and Steve for the book, but I'm not an idiot. I knew that there was no way I was going to win that one, so I did the only thing I could. I sighed and told them.

"His name is Tyler and hers is Rachel. They were my friends, before-" I waved my hands around in a way that indicated the situation in general "-this," I finished vaguely. Then I held out my hand pointedly. True to his word, Steve easily took the book from Tony and passed it over to me, ignoring the startled look on Tony's face.

"Hold on," Tony said. "All I had to do was get Capsicle to ask you and you would've told me right away?" I snorted in response.

"No, I only responded because it was the only option left. I would've fought you for it, but I'd be hard-pressed to beat Steve and I'd be screwed over if I went against both of you at the same time. I might be well trained and everything, but you two have the physical advantage here. You're two grown men and I'm a 16-year-old girl." Steve nodded while Tony still looked alarmed.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked Tony as I carefully flipped through the book to check for damage. My drawings weren't anything awe-inspiring, but I was rather proud of them and people seemed to like them, so I was keen on keeping them safe.

"Oh you know, still processing the fact that you had friends. And that, of all the reactions you could have had to me showing Capsicle that picture, you chose to _growl._"

"I didn't choose to, it just sort of happened," I mumbled absent-mindedly as I finished looking through the last few pages. When I looked up, Tony's eyebrows looked like they were in danger of flying off his face. "What?"

"You honestly expect me to believe that you have an instinct to growl?" he asked, his eyebrows still hanging out by his hairline. I rolled my eyes as I replied.

"Do you honestly expect me to give you a straight answer?" I shot back as I gathered my stuff in my arms to bring it back to my shared bedroom.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. When Mackenzie came home, I helped her with her homework. As a sort of a thank-you, she'd shown me a room full of musical instruments and told me to play whatever I wanted whenever I felt like it. If I'd been inclined to show emotion, I would've hugged the girl.

Pepper made spaghetti for dinner, which seemed to satisfy everyone. Once I'd eaten, I hid in the music room until I decided to go to bed. The piano was my personal favorite, as it was absolutely gorgeous. I could only play the piano and the orchestral strings in there, but I was surprised to find that I knew the names of over half of the instruments in there. I found myself thanking my lucky stars that someone had shown me this or I might've gone insane before the week was out.

I slept well that night, but was once again woken by Mackenzie's alarm. This time, I just got up with her and followed her out to the kitchen and settled down on a barstool with a zombie-like expression. I heard a soft laugh from somewhere be the fridge and looked over dazedly to see Pepper dressed for work and pulling the orange juice out of the fridge.

"Good morning Evelyn," she said gently. "Did Mackenzie wake you?"

"Morning Pepper," I said. "It wasn't really her, it was just her alarm. Which is loud, by the way." Pepper laughed at the fact that I was obviously still half-asleep and gently smiled at me.

"Sorry about that dear. We'll get you out of there as soon as we can. I think Tony's almost done with your floor." I smiled sleepily at her and she offered me a glass of water. I gratefully accepted and gulped it down. Then I rose up, opened the fridge, and pulled out the apple juice. I gave Pepper a look that dared her to judge me as I drank the overly childish drink. She just shook her head slightly as she made herself a cup of coffee.

Once I was done with my juice, I curled up on the sofa with a blanket and ended up dozing for a while. When I finally woke up properly, there were noises in the kitchen and I had slipped from a sitting up position to lying on my side across about three cushions. I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes, trying to wake myself up. I wiggled out of the blanket cocoon I had somehow rolled myself into and stood up. I headed for the kitchen, staggering slightly from side to side in my partially asleep state. On the bright side, the little walk woke me up, so that by the time I got in there I was fully awake again. I rubbed my still-sleepy eyes again and heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like cereal rattling in a bowl. I blinked my eyes open and looked around for the source of the noise. My eyes alighted on Steve, who was shaking what looked like Frosted Flakes into a white ceramic bowl. I looked around and spotted more bowls on the counter. I silently picked one up and put it next to his. He looked up, startled at the sudden appearance of the bowl, and a slight smile lit up his face when he saw me.

"Good morning Evelyn," he said kindly as he poured some cereal into my bowl. "Did you sleep well?" I nodded slightly, both in thanks for the cereal and in answer to his question.

"Fine, I guess. Mackenzie's alarm woke me up. How about you?" I went to the fridge and poured milk in both bowls as Steve put the cereal away. I might not like people, but I did understand that the general response to a question about your well-being was to give a politely neutral answer and then ask a similar question.

"It was alright. I woke up a few times," he replied with a shrug as he got out two spoons and handed me one. We ate our cereal in silence, and I stood and rinsed my bowl in the sink when I was done. Then I turned and leaned back on the counter to watch Steve.

I was perfectly aware that people found it unsettling when I stared at them. I was also perfectly aware that it was creepy, but I honestly didn't care. It was the best way to learn about people, and I liked to know what I was dealing with. I absently tapped my fingers against my arm in a familiar rhythm as I thought.** (AN: Italics are Evelyn's thoughts.)**

He eats neatly but quickly. Makes sense, he was in the military. He also does it without thinking; his eyes are all unfocused, so he probably has cereal a lot. Keeps his elbows off the table, so raised with manners. Awake relatively early and showered; probably out running or working out in one of the gyms. He knows I'm staring; he's starting to fidget.

"Sorry, is there a reason you're staring?" Steve's voice broke me out of my contemplation. I looked up, fingers still tapping away.

"Just thinking. Sorry," I answered vaguely. He looked curious.

"What were you thinking about?" I barely kept from hissing out a curse. His wide, open, innocent eyes told me that he was honestly just curious and had honestly missed that the vague answer was a hint that I wasn't too keen on telling.

"Nothing important," I replied, trying to get the point across a bit more this time. He looked mildly annoyed for a second, but then understanding crossed his face. I almost sighed with relief. I really didn't want to bluntly inform him I wasn't telling.

"Right. Okay," he said. There was a long pause where neither of us knew what to say. I was about to just up and leave when Steve suddenly spoke again.

"What were you planning on doing today?" I shrugged neutrally in response.

"I dunno. Probably explore the rest of the tower and then play some music in the music room or something."

"I can show you around if you want. And I think Tony might have some team thing in mind for when Natasha and Clint get here." I noticed that he carefully structured the words so that it sounded like two casual statements instead of him desperately trying to make me feel like I belonged here. I was inclined to say no and insist that I could find my own way around, but then I realized that I would probably end up lost and have to ask for help. I gave an internal sigh and pushed myself away from the counter.

"Sure. Just let me get dressed. I'll meet you back out here in 10 minutes," I told him, fingers still tapping. He nodded slightly, and his attention shifted to my arm.

"What're you tapping?" he asked. I barely refrained from rolling my eyes. This guy was more curious than the average six-year-old. My mouth twisted as I tried to decide whether or not to reply. Finally, I sighed and actually told him the truth.

"It's a piano piece called Kiss the Rain," I said bluntly as I began to walk out. "I'll be back in 10 minutes."

I found that I couldn't keep a slight smile off my face as I headed back to my shared bedroom.

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**AN: Well that was a long one! I actually kept having to go back to remind myself of everything that happened in this chapter. That's how long it is. So yeah, sorry for the wait, but my life keeps getting busier and busier. So hopefully you guys will have another update soon! Thanks again for all the reviews and favorites and follows!**

**~Moony**


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